The Paston Letters Volume Iv Part 18

[Footnote 89.5: [From Fenn, i. 278.] By the mention of Sir John Paston it is evident that this letter was written after 1463, but of course the date cannot be later than 1466, in which year John Paston the father died, to whom the letter is addressed. It appears also to have been written shortly after the death of James Sevenoke, Abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury, which Fenn, I know not on what authority, says occurred in 1463. Even the new edition of Dugdale does not give the date; but Fenn's date is in all probability right.]

[Footnote 91.1: This last paragraph is crossed out in the original MS.]

557

CLEMENT PASTON TO JOHN PASTON SENIOR[91.2]

_To hys rythe worchyfull broder, John Paston thelder, Sqwyer be this delyveryd._

[Sidenote: 1464 / FEB. 15]

Broder, I recomawnde me to zowe. After all dew recommendacions, &c. Az for Hew Fennys obligacion, Zelverton knowlacheyd it to be Sir John Fastolfe is dede opynly in the Escheker, and ther he hadde is jugement to receive the mony and x_li._ for domages. And they report here that they have a schreve after her entent that wyll mak hem execucion, or ellis return that ye have wastyd the G.o.dis of the dede; so that they wyll have execucion of zowr own goodis, or ellys a wryt to tak zowr body. Thus ze may se they zeve no fors wat they doo, thow they xwld lesse and stroy all the goodis of the dede; And ther for, for savacion of goodis of the dede, better it wer to suffer tak sum trete than to suffer the goodis thus to be lost. Also Zelverton hathe ben at all the tenauntis of Sowthewerk and chargid hem to pay no mony but to hym. Also the kyng hathe ben in Glowcetescher and pwnyssede hys rebellious a zens the lawe, and so he entendithe to doo in Norfolk, and after that in oder contreez. G.o.d zeve gra.s.se and good spede in hys jornay. No more but I pray G.o.de have zow in hys kepyng. Wretyn on Ha.s.se Wednysday in haste.

Also I pray zou, send me xl_s._ that I tok James Gressam and John Pampyng for zowr materis. Also ther is no man that hathe contentyd ony thyng in the Kyngis Benche of all thys term for zour materis, and that makythe the clerkis and zowr Aturnay wery. I trow I xall be fayn to contente hem or ellys they xall be unpayyd.

Zowr broder,

CLEMENT PASTON.

[Footnote 91.2: [Add. MS. 34,889, f. 2.] For the date of this letter and the King's going to Gloucestershire, see preliminary note to No. 555, p. 88, Note 1.]

558

RICHARD CALLE TO JOHN PASTON[92.1]

_To my mooste reverent and wurchipfull mastre, my Mastre John Paston, be this delyverd._

[Sidenote: 1464 / FEB. 27]

Plesith it your goode mastreschip to undrestande that I have receyved a byll of John Boteler, weche speketh of your heygh at Heylesdn, and of your barly in other places, but I undrestand not what ye wold I schulde do therin; nevertheles I schal do make it redy. And as for your heygh I schull tell you whan I come hume; and as for money at Heylesdon I can non gete, and at Sueynesthorp I have take iiij. marc.

Item, as for tidyngs the Sescions schal be at Thetford on Wednesday next comyng, where I undrestande Mr. Berney wol be with moche people, be cauce ther is come to hym a Prevy Seale that he schuld be with the Kyng within vj. dayes that the Prevy Seale whas delyverd hym, weche he can not doo, for the vj. day is to morwe. Ther is on comen to Felbrigge, to William Yelverton on other, and to Robert Rough an other, and non of them wol goo to the Kyng; and the Undrescherif tolde me that ther is comen a comyscion doun to hes maistre, that in cas they come not up to the Kyng be ther Prevy Seales, that than he rere the contre and take hem and bryng hem to the Kyng wher so ever he be.

Item, Jamys Gresham tellethe me the same, and as for tidyngs fro London we here non, but that John Colman telleth me that if Berney or Robert Rough come up they are like to die.

Ther be come to London Embasetors from the Duke of Burgundy, weche cauced the Kyng to spede hym the rather to London.

Item, as for any newe a.s.sises at Thetford ther is non but that hathe hanged this v. yere, as the Scherif tellethe me.

I whas purposed to be at home this nyght tell I had your bille, weche cauceth me to ride on to Drayton for divers thyngs, &c. Almyghty Jesu preserve you.

Wreten at Norwiche, the ij. Munday of clene Lente.

Your pore beedeman and servaunt,

RIC. CALLE.

[Footnote 92.1: [From Fenn, iv. 72.] This letter and the next both mention a.s.sizes at Thetford. The latter, which is dated on Wednesday, the last (29th) day of February, and which was certainly written in the year 1464, mention them as being held on that very day. The present letter, dated on the second Monday in Lent, says they are _to be_ held on Wednesday following. Now the second Monday in Lent 1464 fell on the 27th of February, that is to say just two days before that particular Wednesday on which we know that the a.s.sizes really were held. This alone seems almost sufficient evidence of the date of the letter. As for the King's going up to London, it appears by the dates of the Privy Seals that on the 9th February he was at Gloucester, on the 16th and 17th at Kimbolton; and it is stated in the next letter that he was at Waltham on the 27th, which shows that he really was moving towards the capital. This was not the case in 1462, the year to which Fenn a.s.signs the letter; nor do I know his authority for stating that there was a Burgundian Emba.s.sy in the beginning of that year.]

559

JOHN PAMPYNGE TO JOHN PASTON, SENIOR[93.1]

_To my right worshipfull master, John Paston, the elder, Squier._

[Sidenote: 1464 / FEB. 29]

Please your mastership to wete that the a.s.sise holde this day at Thetford; and as for any newe a.s.sise, that ye spak of, ther is non, ner non other savyng on for a man a bought Brunham.

I spak with Herward, and I askyd hym if ther was any gret day at Bury, and he seid ther was but a small day, and as for any a.s.sises ther wer non but old; and he told me that Debenham and the Undershireff were falle ought. Debenham bare the Shireff on hand[94.1] that he had do indited an hundred men son he cam in to his office, and the Shireff told hym that the Kyngs bokkes apperid whedir it was so or nought; and he told Debenham that he coud indite an hundred at on tyme whan ye wer indited, and named yow the cause of ther brekyng.

Ther was a man kyllid now late in Suffolk, and he that ded it was on of Debenhams men; and Herward told me that the Shireff seid to hym he wold do Debenham a shrewd turne and he coud.

Item, it was told me at Norwich that Master Berney shuld have be here with a gret felaship, and it is not so, ner no man heryth of hys comyng, ner her is but litell pepill nowther, ther wer not so few this iij. yer, as men say.

Item, Herward askyd me where John Gayn was, and I askyd why, and he seid ther is a _capias_ ought ayens hym upon the condempnaceon,[94.2] and the Shireff hath it, he bad me geve hym warnyng; it is retarnabill xv.

Pasch.[94.3]

Item, thei sey here that the Kyng was on Monday at Waltham.

Item, Nicholas Colman hath brought home your fardell; it is at Norwich.

Item, ther be no more Juges here but Sir Pers Ardeyn.[94.4]

Wretyn at Thetford, the Wednesday the last day of Februar.

Item, Wymondham[95.1] is here, and was at the shirehows this day, and the Kyngs livery abaught his nekke, and ther stood be the Juge, whill a lettir of the Kyngs was red. The effect was, as it was told me, that the Kyng will that justice be had, and that all risers ayens the pees, and oppressers of the pepill, be chasteised, letyng hem weet[95.2] that he was late in Cambrigge Shire, and there such as had offendid askyd grace, whech thei had, savyng such as wer rewlers, whom he woll somwhat bee punyshid, purposyng to be in this contry abought Estern, &c.

Your servaunt, &c.,

JOHN PAMPYNGE.

[Footnote 93.1: [From Fenn, iv. 158.] The circ.u.mstance of the last day of February falling on a Wednesday fixes the date of this letter to the year 1464. There is no evidence in the dates of Privy Seals that the King was at Waltham in the end of February, or that he had previously visited Cambridgeshire, in any year during the period when this letter must have been written; but it is quite possible that he was at Waltham on the 27th February 1464, and if so, that he had pa.s.sed through Cambridgeshire on his way from Kimbolton, where he had been on the 17th.]

[Footnote 94.1: _i.e._ accused him. _See_ vol. ii. p. 110, Note 1.]

[Footnote 94.2: Query, as to this word, it being not perfect in the original.--F.]

[Footnote 94.3: Quindena Paschae, the fifteenth day after Easter.]

[Footnote 94.4: Sir Peter Ardern, Knight, was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and also a Justice of the Common Pleas, in 1448; but in 1462 a new Chief Baron was appointed, and Ardern retained only the judgeship in the Common Pleas. He died in 1467.]

[Footnote 95.1: John Wymondham, Esq., the purchaser of Felbrigg; he died there in 1475, and was buried in the Augustine Friars at Norwich.--F.]

[Footnote 95.2: The word 'weet' is omitted in Fenn's original text, but occurs in the modern copy.]